Botswana has a
large land mass. As a result, in sparsely populated areas of the country,
it is not possible to provide a regular supply of newspapers and other publications.
Telephone service may also not exist. Radio broadcasting has become the only
regular link connecting some of these areas to the rest of the country. There
are now two state radio channels providing radio service to the public. These
are Radio Botswana 1 (RB1) and Radio Botswana 2 (RB2)

RADIO BOTSWANA 1 (RB 1)

Formerly known
as Radio Bechuanaland before the country attained its independence, RB 1 is
simply called Radio Botswana by most citizens of Botswana.

When Radio Bechuanaland
began to transmit in 1965, it was inheriting a one-kilowatt medium wave transmitter
from the veterinary department of the out-going colonial government based
at Mafeking. The transmitter had been used for communications among veterinary
field staff within a 20-mile radius since World War II.

Shortly before
independence, three more transmitters were acquired so that Radio Bechuanaland
would be able to prepare Batswana during the run-up to independence. Since
then, more and better equipment has been made available, and its operation
time has increased from a mere one and half-hours to the present 18 hours
a day.

Radio Botswana
established a newsroom in the early 1970's and the number news bulletins were
increased from one to four a day. Today, bulletins are available every hour.

The station is
made up of two sections, namely Culture and Entertainment (programmes), and
News and Current Affairs. The News and Current Affairs programmes such as
Around-the-World-Today, Masa-a-asele/Morning Show, and Tatediso-ya-Dikgang/Newsreel.
Newsreel and the Morning Show are mainly composed of local current affairs
issues. Around-the-World-Today, on the other hand, features international
current affairs.

The Culture and
Entertainment Section of RB 1 is responsible for the general programmes and
features cultural themes, music and drama. Most of the programmes are designed
to educate the public, especially about government programmes, but also to
entertain.

RADIO BOTSWANA
2 (RB2)

The first commercial
radio channel - RB2- started operating in April 1992 as a government pilot
project to find ways to offset increasing expenditure through advertising.
It initially utilised a 100-watt transmitter, whose coverage extended 50 km
around the capital city, Gaborone, however, the radio, dubbed "FM 103"
(from its initial Gaborone reception frequency), can now be tuned to across
the country.

RB 2 caters for
an audience ranging in age from 15 to 45 years comprising mainly urban and
suburban dwellers. The radio station features contemporary entertainment appealing
especially to the younger members of society and young urban professionals.

RB 2 also carries
the full Radio Botswana news bulletins at 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m.,
8 p.m. and 9 p.m. every weekday. Bulletins are also available during weekends.
Unlike its sister channel RB 2 broadcasts around the clock.

As a commercial
channel, it generates some revenue of its own. As a result, it provides recording
facilities for commercials, and accepts sponsored programming which may be
done either from the studio or on location using an Outside Broadcast Van.